Please join us Friday, September 7 at 7 pm for the ﬁrst opening reception of the My Winnipeg Project, organized by Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art with multiple institutional partners. The My Winnipeg Project is a series of consecutive exhibitions presenting artwork by more than 100 artists, who have worked, lived or had an association with the city of Winnipeg. As a psycho-geographic territory, Winnipeg is the birthplace of the Métis nation and the province’s forefather Louis Riel, the 1919 General Strike, the original headquarters for Harlequin Romance novels. Childhood home of Neil Young and Marshall McLuhan, Winnipeg has evolved as a remarkable centre of cultural production.

Nonetheless, ‘Winnipeg’ resists idealization as it suffers the legacies of colonialism that include racism and child poverty. It is also the coldest large city on the planet and has been plagued by ﬂoods and ﬁres. My Winnipeg, taking its name from the title of Guy Maddin’s award-winning ﬁlm, brings together subjective and conﬂicting impressions of this mid-sized prairie capital, versions in which truth mingles with ﬁction, history, and speculation. The exhibition playfully and critically conjures diverse interpretations of Winnipeg through contemporary art and reference to ephemeral, archival, and historical materials. My Winnipeg depicts the city as a mytho-poetic place of reverie, catastrophe, carnal desire, and (sub) conscious inspiration.

There are numerous strands explored throughout these exhibition chapters, which are by no means meant as an objective survey of artwork from the city. By contrast, the My Winnipeg project focuses on recurring themes, images and aesthetics that coalesce, creating an all but momentary coherence of this place — as the artists vary widely in age, background, and media. Among such diversity, this project proposes that perhaps there is a vocabulary that is uniquely “Winnipeg,” albeit perhaps with one foot in “truth” and one foot in “ﬁction.”

The project will be displayed in four consecutive chapters, coalescing as the My Winnipeg Project, following a successful tour of France where more than 35,000 viewers witnessed the previous incarnations of the project.

My Winnipeg is co-curated by Paula Aisemberg, Sigrid Dahle, Hervé di Rosa, Noam Gonick, Anthony Kiendl, Cathy Mattes and Cassidy Richardson. It is co-organized by Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, la maison rouge, Musée international des arts modestes (Sète), School of Art Gallery, University of Manitoba, and the National Arts Centre (Ottawa).

Plug In ICA gratefully acknowledges the support of the Manitoba Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Winnipeg Arts Council, Canadian Heritage, the Winnipeg Foundation, our donors, members and volunteers.

Sponsors:

Chapter Sponsor: Michael F.B. Nesbitt

Exhibit Sponsor: Cambrian Credit Union

Make sure to check Plug In ICA’s website for the complete artist list, additional programs, events, and talks during the run of My Winnipeg (September 2012 through March 2013).